Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 1: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor

November 27. Only one destination left to hit before venturing to the south island: Tongariro (Tong-guh-REE-roh) National Park. The big draw of Tongariro for me was the Northern Circuit, a multi-day hike classified as one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks. Unlike the others, Tongariro features not lush vegetation, pristine lakes, and picturesque beaches, but a formidable volcanic wasteland. And looming ominously over the circuit stands Mt. Ngauruhoe (Nah-oo-ruh-HO-ee)* more famously known as Mt. Doom. Mordor beckoned.

*[I heard about six different pronunciations for this beloved mountain. The one I've provided is somewhere between the Maori pronunciation and that of lazy native English speakers.]

Part of the Northern Circuit overlaps with the Alpine Crossing, a challenging but rewarding 19 km day hike. "Lonely Planet" labels it the best single-day walk in New Zealand; "Let's Go" calls it one of the top ten in the world. My two favorite Germans,* Caro and Stef, were planning to take a weekend trip to do the Alpine Crossing with Julia (one of my New Plymouth roommates). I convinced them to do it this weekend. With Andrew still working on the car, Jaime was free to be kidnapped. The plan was to drive to the park entrance at Whakapapa** Village on Saturday, do a small hike after setting up camp, then knock out the Alpine Crossing on Sunday. We would then part ways, with the girls returning to New Plymouth and me taking two more days to complete the loop.

*[They have a car, which makes them handy for this sort of mission...quest...thing.]

**[No pronunciation guide here. Just remember what I told you about the 'wh' sound in Maori, and understand that they didn't know English when they gave the place its name. Whakapapa means "story", a fitting name for one of the most sacred regions of Maori lore.]


Sunday started earlier than usual. We dropped the car off at the end of the circuit and grabbed a shuttle to the beginning. The weather could not possibly have been better---warm without being hot, light wind, and not a cloud in the sky. The trail was crowded, as over 600 people took advantage of the favorable conditions. We made decent time as we moved along at an unhurried pace, scrambling up ridges and strolling through vast volcanic craters, with vapory wisps rising from steam vents all around us. The scenery was both breath-taking and awe-inspiring in its rugged desolation. Beauty takes many forms---even in Mordor.



With an estimated three hours travel time for a side trip up and down Mt. Ngauruhoe, we decided against making a long day even longer. I was under the impression that Mt. Doom could be accessed from the opposite side and would be more or less on my way as I continued along the circuit, so since day two was supposed to be shorter anyway, I had no problem bypassing the summit.

Left to right: Jaime, Caro, Stef, me, Julia.

The most treacherous---as well as highest---point was the upper rim of Red Crater. A steep ascent led to a narrow ridge with a sheer drop on either side. From there you could see down into three different volcanic craters, the top of Mt. Tongariro---which supposedly offers the best views of the land both in and outside the national park---and the Emerald Lakes below. The trail leads to the latter, down an even steeper slope of loose sand and gravel; quite the invitation for a sprained ankle.


After Emerald Lakes, the Alpine Crossing diverges from the Northern Circuit, but I wanted to finish with my friends. besides, I had left my full backpack in the car, so I had already committed anyway. We made it to the end without major incident, and thus our fellowship came to an end. Stefi got shot full of arrows, Caro was captured and taken to Isengard, Jaime went out to hunt some orcs, and Julia retired to a life of luxury in Lothlorien. I was left to journey into Mordor alone.